A Turn of the Wheel
by Neshomeh
Summary: The war is over, but not forgotten. John and Aeryn talk about their next step. This is set some indefinite time after "PK Wars" and CONTAINS SPOILERS. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.


**A Turn of the Wheel**

John tossed under the gold coverlet and muttered in his sleep. He was wandering the broken roads of the Idalon city. They twisted and turned like waves under his feet and the sounds of pulse fire made the hot air tremble. He was looking for something, searching with all his being, but he couldn't find it. It was lost. He was lost.

"Arg," he groaned. "Dah... D'Argo... D'Argo, D'Argo!" He came awake with the shout and sat bolt upright, looking around blindly and reaching out for what he couldn't see.

"Here, here." Aeryn's steady voice in his ear. "Here's D'Argo. Here is your son."

John looked down and saw the baby held out to him. He took the boy and held him closely, ever mindful of his soft body. Little D'Argo crooned and gurgled, settling against his father's chest and looking up at him with wide eyes. John couldn't help but smile as he let the baby grip his finger, but it was a wan smile that didn't drive the shadows from his eyes.

Aeryn watched them quietly for a moment. "You weren't calling for him, were you?"

John didn't reply. She knew the answer. After a pause, though, he spoke softly.

"Nothing's ever going to be the same, is it?"

"Well, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

John glanced sideways at his mate. The wry tone of her voice almost suggested that she was trying to be funny, but the set of her eyes said otherwise. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm glad as hell not to be public enemy number one anymore. I'm glad all that crap is out of my head. I guess I just realized that I'm only a little fish in a big universe again and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Hell, I don't even have Harvey to give me sarcastic, useless advice. What am I going to do, Aeryn?"

He looked at her and she reached across him to take little D'Argo back. "Well," she said, "You can start by being a father to this little one. You can be a husband to me. You can help Pilot get Moya back into shape and re-paint those DRD's—"John rolled his eyes and Aeryn smiled. "You could be a Peacekeeper, now that the Idalons are redefining the word."

John snorted. "With Grayza in charge? Would you want to be a Peacekeeper again?"

The baby burbled into the silence.

"No," Aeryn said. "No, I would not."

"... So. Indefinite honeymoon on Hyneria?"

"Sounds good."

"Maybe..." John hesitated, his brow furrowing. "Maybe we can have a proper service while we're there. You know, for—"

"—For D'Argo. Yes."

"I'm really gonna miss that guy."

"We all will."

"Yeah. Universe is a crazy place, huh?" John leaned toward Aeryn, putting an arm around her and stroking the baby's smooth, round cheek.

"Insane. But maybe it will start to make a little more sense now. D'Argo died for that. To make this universe a better place to live in. He would want to be remembered for that."

"You know, a few cycles ago you would have called it a warrior's end."

No response. All of them were changed so much, John thought. A few cycles ago, his fondest ambition had been to go home, to Earth. Now that was impossible, but it hardly mattered. Moya was his home now because his family was there. And Moya could go almost anywhere.

John looked up, staring into the middle ground. Aeryn instinctively tried to follow his gaze, then came back to his face. He was almost radiant.

"What?"

"I know what I can do. Something that would have saved us a lot of trouble. I started off a scientist and adventurer, and I guess I still am. I could chart the Uncharted Territories."

Aeryn's eyebrows rose slowly. "That's a very big job for one little spaceman."

"So I'll need a lot of help." He turned to her and grinned.

She smiled back. "D'Argo would be proud. And he will be." She shifted little D'Argo in her arms. He squirmed and looked around for the cause of the disturbance. His eyes settled on John, and John looked back at him with a mixture of sadness and his own pride in his son. His perfect, beautiful son, whom he could never get enough of. John held out his hands for him and Aeryn handed him over silently.

"Hey, little man. Hey there," John said, rocking the child. "Who's your daddy?"

D'Argo smiled because he knew.


End file.
